Intro to Studio Lighting Diagrams

This weekend I taught an "Introduction to Studio Lighting and Posing" class at the Photo Connection of Colchester, CT. It was among several classes I taught this weekend including "Introduction to Portrait Retouching", "Creativity Morning, Noon and Night", "Raindrop Reflections" and "Organization in the Digital Age". They typically bring me to their store about two times each year to teach on a variety of topics and its always a GREAT time. Not only are the store owners extremely sweet and nice and professional... but the students are always very enthusiastic and eager to learn.

I been doing this for a few years. I got the idea from a thread I saw in Model Mayhem forum. Someone on Model Mayhem forum created a Photoshop file that was full of differnet type of lights and backdrops each on a seperate layer you can turn on and off, move lights around in Photoshop to make creating lighting diagrams easy. Sorry I wish I knew where you can find it on MM.

Another thing I do is write down the f stop of the lights, the background, distance of the model to the lights and other things I did on trhe shoot. For example a cheeze cloth over the beauty dish.

A clothing designers gave me this idea he got from a fashion photographer he worked with. Write down all the studio sets used on a shoot in a book and refer to for lighting ideas.

So that is what I do. Make a diagram of the lighting used on paper. Write everything down all the details everything I used. When the shoot is over go into Photoshop can create a diagram like Lindsay does. Print it and file it away in a binder with clear sleeves. It does not have to be my the lighting I used from my shoot. There are many times the diagrams could be another photographer’s lighting setup, make a diagram and file it away for some ideas.

I like to think of my lighting book as my lighting tear sheets that I go back to for some ideas.

The workshops in Colchester were fabulous, Lindsay. Mark and I had such fun and learned so much! And now to have these diagrams, just brings it all back…and now we need to get some lights and begin practicing!! 😉 Hope to see you in CT, again, soon! Dot

Thank you so much for posting this! A friend has allowed me the opportunity to use her studio to do some portrait photography of my own. I was happy with the results but really wanted to explore more lighting options/placements and this is a really good starting point 🙂

Wow that was odd. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say superb blog! dadfggffgbee